An Inspiring Debut: Bucks 91 – Pistons 85
Saturday, February 20th, 2010After a first quarter in which the Pistons started 11-11 from the field, I thought this might be business as usual against the Detroit Pistons for the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Pistons have had the Bucks number over the past couple seasons. This year, the Bucks took the opener, but the Pistons out-muscled and out-matched the Bucks in the following two games, exposing the Bucks inability to defend bigger guards or get much penetration.
But then John Salmons made his Bucks debut. From his very first made basket, you could see he offers a little something that the Bucks previously didn’t offer much. Salmons caught on the perimeter, crossed over on Tayshaun Prince and hit a floater in the lane. On his next catch Salmons pump-faked, just like any other Buck would do on a catch, but then again took it into the lane and was able to get to the free-throw line. Those aren’t big flashy plays and I don’t expect him to be a miracle worker, but if these are his strengths, they mesh perfectly with the Bucks weaknesses.
And while a line of 19 points, one rebound and zeroes in every other category looks like Salmons was out there jackin’, it wasn’t necessarily the case. Salmons found a cutting Ersan Ilyasova with a very nice pass only to have Charlie V. hack Ersan and send him to the free-throw line. Another time Salmons got into the lane for the umpteenth time and made a nice drop off pass to a posted up Andrew Bogut – only to have Bogut called for three seconds. For a guy who says he didn’t know his new team’s plays, that’s not too bad.
And neither was the three-pointer he hit to put the Bucks up four with 16 seconds to go with the Pistons crowd rocking and two defenders in his area. That, my friends, was the personification of a” SHUT-UP” shot.
Charles Darwin has a message for those making noise while his bearded friend John Salmons hits daggers: "SHUT UP"
Road woes continue: Pistons 105 – Bucks 96
Saturday, December 5th, 2009Had I started writing this immediately after the Bucks game, things would not have been pretty. The number of scathing criticisms going through my head had to have been up over 50. We just hadn’t seen an effort like that out of this year’s Bucks team to date, so I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around the performance. Lambasting the Bucks lack of energy is easy, as they had none. It was virtually never a game from start to finish and the Pistons manhandled and at times embarrassed the Bucks. And we’re not talking about the ‘96 Bulls here. The Pistons (6-12 coming in) aren’t very good. The weren’t even a better than average home team at 4-4 entering play Friday night.
So there is a lot do be disappointed about.
But the more I thought about it, the less the whole thing bothered me. It’s all still frustrating, but I get it a little more. Yes, anyone can have a high energy and effort level on any given night. And yes, teams with less talent really should be bringing it with a full tank of pluckiness to make up for their deficiencies, but it’s not that simple. But a team with as little overall talent as the Bucks can’t possibly match their opponents effort every single night. The Pistons won only for the second time in ten days, they were very hungry and saw the Bucks as the perfect team to feast on. It was evident almost immediately. They pushed and got very little resistance. This Pistons team didn’t necessarily have more talent than the Bucks, but they certainly were playing with a greater sense of need for this win.
At this stage in their development, the Bucks aren’t going to win any games where they don’t feel like the absolutely need it. Why they played like they didn’t need this one is beyond me, the schedule isn’t getting any easier in the next week. They have two or three quality starters on their team and then role players galore. That’s a team that needs to scrape by with grit and determination, both of which were in short supply Friday. (more…)
Game 18 preview: Bucks at Pistons
Friday, December 4th, 2009Milwaukee Bucks (Scott Skiles) 9-8
(Probable) Inactives: Michael Redd, Joe Alexander and Francisco Elson
at
Detroit Pistons (Jon Kuester) 6-12
(Probable) Inactives: Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton
Date: 12/4/09
Time: 7:00 (CST)
TV: FS Wisconsin
Match-ups
Point Guard
Brandon Jennings vs. Chucky Atkins (!?)
These are like the grandfathers to the 2000 Pistons. Chucky Atkins? Ben Wallace? Atkins has been bumped into the lineup over the last couple games as a way to get Rodney Stuckey some time at the two, apparently as a method of sustaining his energy. Atkins is more a pure point guard than Stuckey or backup Will Bynum. He’s mainly in that crappy starter who gives you less than 20 minutes of non-terrible defense role. The Royal Ivey Memorial Starter if you will. At any rate, Jennings may be able to get some good looks early if he chooses. Jennings typically looks to get Bogut involved early in games though, so that may not really pay off. By the time BJ usually starts to look to get off, Atkins will be on the bench. Atkins isn’t any kind of threat on offense though, so at least BJ won’t get burned while he’s in.
Advantage: Bucks (more…)
